Department of Special Investigation (DSI) director general Police General Sombat Amornvivat said on Friday that a team led by his deputy, Colonel Thawee Sodsong, and a public prosecutor would leave early next month to establish the true cost of the firefighting equipment and to study the contracts in detail.

The investigators would be in Austria for about a week and they will submit their findings to the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) by the end of the month.

The Austrian firm involved, Steyr Daimler Puch, meanwhile dismissed charges that it was not 100 per cent Austrian-owned, saying it was registered under Austrian law and an active member of the Austrian Economic Council.

The company said its major stakeholder was Vienna-based General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems.

Deputy chief executive Mario Minar said the company had revealed all facts about the Bt6.68billion deal on February 22 and did not understand the objective, nor the motive, of the investigation.

He said it appeared it was motivated by political or personal agendas.

He said the contract stipulated that the deal was not effective until the Letter of Credit was opened. Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin opened the letter on January 10, 2005, he said, and the deal became effective on January 21.

"Having been in business in Thailand for more than 15 years, Steyr wishes to maintain good business relations in the country for as long as possible. In this case the company has assigned legal advisers to study the possibility of filing lawsuits against people trying to discredit the deal," Minar said.

"We never forced the BMA to choose us and they could have chosen another company if they found the proposal by Steyr was not acceptable, or was too expensive," he said.

Meanwhile Democrat leader Alongkorn  Pollabutr threatened to countersue libel lawsuits filed against him by former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej and former interior minister Bhokin Bhalakula.

Alongkorn told a press conference yesterday that he was willing to fight the court battles and was considering to countersue Samak and Bhokin next week on charge of filling fault libel charges against him. Asked if Apirak would be investigated in relation to the deal, Alongkorn said that he had urged the NCCC to summon everyone involved in the deal, but her personally believed that Apirak should not be responsible to this deal because the Bangkok Governor had sent a letter expression his intention not to but the engines to Krung Thai Bank and the Department of Foreign Trade twice.

The Nation